Yunkun grew up in Pittsburgh, and in 1975 she married Chris—“the love of my life.” They have a son, Christopher, and daughter, Allison. The two have moved 17 times throughout his career—and look forward to the last move to Arizona. They have a primary home in Texas. Now a getaway and seasonal retreat, the Superstition Mountain home will be their retirement refuge.
While they intersect today like yin and yang, Dobbins and Yunkun’s business began spontaneously on their doorsteps. Dobbins, who grew up in Indiana before moving to Illinois in 1998, bought the home next door to Yunkun. They began Chicago-based Villa Bella Designs that year: “We swiftly became friends and formed a creative bond that developed into our design firm,” Dobbins recalls. “We found that we shared a love of decorating and a desire to create something special for all of our clients—unique living spaces that reflect more than a design but their lifestyles.” Their partnership is one body: “Karen is the bones, such as the structural work, and I am the skin, providing the finishing touches,” Yunkun explains. Together, they’ve also completed projects in Florida, California and Chicago.
“The original model, although quite nice, did not allow us to take full advantage of the beauty of the view from this lot,” Yunkun explains. Accordingly, the women worked with Luker and his team to make structural changes to the already-framed home. They replaced the window in the dining room with a 10-foot double door that matched the existing one in the adjacent great room area. “This opened up another walkway to the loggia and allowed us to maximize the gorgeous views of the golf course and Superstition Mountain.”
The solution in the great and dining rooms would also work in the master bedroom, which promised the same spectacular view. They removed the side door and replaced the windows with glass doors—replicating the look of the adjacent great room and dining area. “I love waking up to the sunrise over the mountains,” Yunkun says.
She also likes to enjoy morning coffee under the trellised section of the patio, just outside the master bedroom. “With the great weather year-round and the amazing views, we wanted to create and utilize as much outdoor living space as possible,” she says.
As a result, the team worked on the exterior spaces so that they could maximize entertaining options. Just outside the dining area is an outdoor kitchen with a grill, sink and refrigerator. Here, too, are couches, ceiling fans and an outdoor television ensconced in a decorative wood cabinet. They even installed a spool, designed by Chris—a large jetted spa with seating all around that allows lap swimming. On one side of the spool is a fire pit with glass crystals and seating for enjoying crisp desert nights. (It’s typically about five degrees cooler at Superstition Mountain than in the lower Valley elevations.) Opposite the spool there is an intimate seating area: “We refer to it as the ‘cocktail room’ where we often sit and relax with friends or family,” Yunkun says.
Inside, the tile the designers ultimately selected for the main house is Capadocia in a Versailles layout. But it wasn’t that easy. Earlier, they had selected two travertine designs, but their contact at Scottsdale’s Old World Tile and Marble told them that each had been discontinued.